Once again, Cory Wong is striking out on his own. 

The  Vulfpeck guitarist’s second solo LP The Optimist is due on Aug. 17, and he has enlisted a number of colleagues—including Prince’s beloved Hornheads horn section—to fill out the album’s funkified sound.  

“I wanted [this record] to really feel like a welcoming and open musical community from all areas,” he says. “This rhythm section is who I play with regularly, and the Hornheads are frequent collaborators, but also my friend Elliott Blaufuss who lives in Nashville called me the morning of the session and said, ‘Hey man, I’m around town today, you wanna hang?’ I told him I had a session and that he should swing by for lunch. He ended up hanging an extra hour and I had him play organ on this song [“Jax”]. I love being a part of and cultivating a community of musicians where we can all come together to contribute to each other’s projects.”

The Optimist was created in the span of just six days, and Wong points to “Jax” as one of the album’s highlights. In particular, he cites the employment of his unique double percussion section as a creative breakthrough.

‘”Jax’ was a fun song to record,” he recalls, “because I had just come off of a concert where we first used the ‘palindrome’ drummer setup and I really wanted to record something in the studio with it because it created a unique sound. I have one drummer who’s left-handed, and one who’s right-handed. I have never loved the sound of two drummers, but I’ve always loved the concept. Something has always sounded a little cluttered to me; but when we figured this drum setup, it solved all of the issues I had!”

The Optimist is now available for pre-order. 

Check out Wong’s upcoming tour dates (on sale Thursday, June 28) and the video for “Jax” below:

Cory Wong Tour Dates
June 27 – Durango, CO – The Animas City Theatre
July 7 – Chicago, IL – Live in Lincoln Park
Aug. 14 – Vienna, VA – Jammin Java
Aug. 15 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
Aug. 16 – Virginia Beach, VA – Shaka’s Live
Aug. 17 – Pittsboro, NC – The BIG What?
Aug. 18 – Asheville, NC – Taproom at Sierra Nevada
Aug. 19 – Knoxville, TN – The Concourse (at The International)
Aug. 21 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
Aug. 23 – Nashville, TN – City Winery
Aug. 24 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Indy
Aug. 25 – Fort Wayne, IN – Two EE’s Winery
Oct. 7 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Clamores
Oct. 10 – Cologne, Germany – Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld
Oct. 11 – Berlin, Germany – Gretchen
Oct. 13 – Den Haag, Netherlands – Mondriaan Jazz Festival
Oct. 14 – Stockholm, Sweden – Stockholm Jazz Festival
Oct. 16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Bitterzoet
Oct. 17 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – BIRD
Oct. 19 – Zurich, Switzerland – Moods
Oct. 20 – Fribourg, Switzerland – La Spirale
Oct. 21 – Milan, Italy – Blue Note
Oct. 25 – Live Oak, FL – Suwannee Hulaween
Nov. 17 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre